The Baby
by Two Last Words
Summary: Evelyn Mercer knew right away that Jonathon Cade was going to be her next son. The beaten look in his eyes, the broken way he held his body, and his terrible file almost screamed that he was going to be a Mercer.


Evelyn Mercer knew right away that Jonathon Cade was going to be her next son. The beaten look in his eyes, the broken way he held his body, and his damning file almost screamed that he was going to be a Mercer. Evelyn had been a social worker for a long, time and had seen the world at it's worse and with every broke child that entered St. Marcus' she weeped for the pain and suffering that the curel world forced on children that shouldn't have to experience.

Jonathon Cade was no different, his story was just as terrible and heart breaking as the last; only this one reminded her of her other four sons. Bobby and his painful beatings that his father had rained upon him. Jerry and his abandonment going from one abusive home to another, Angel having to hustle people out of their money to get food, and to keep from being beaten, and her poor, poor Jack who had suffered so much abuse and human depravaty that he was still suffering from.

Evelyn looked through his file with a deep frown maring her face, the poor child had a medical history nearly a mile long. Beaten with a two-by-four, belt scars, and burns littered his flesh and Evelyn hurt for the boy she knew would become her new son. His rap sheet was nearly as long. Breaking and entering, petty theft and it seemed the boy had pulled a knife on his last foster father.

The older woman closed her eyes in pain when she continued the file, the poor boy had been caught up in some terrible stuff and it turns out he wasn't even from Michigan, the boy was an Oklahoman. "What are you doing so far from home, child?" She asked herself softly as she continued to look through his file and suddenly she seen it. An old news paper clipping and what looked like a police report. It now all made sense.

The door to the office opened and a tired, rather worn out woman shuffled through the room nearly collapsing into one of the best chairs. Evelyn smiled softly and offered the other woman and coforting smile. "Tough day?" She asked putting the file down gently taking care to keep it closed.

"Oh yes, that Cade boy was a handful, we just brought him to the home." She explained, "Poor boy was out of it, still very drugged up from something the doctors gave him." Evelyn winced in sympathy she never agreeded with drugging children but she knew that sometimes medicating them was nesseccary.

Evelyn frowned and brought her hand up to her mouth in thought, she needed to see the child. "Is he with the nurse?" She asked already straightening her paper work and working her way to the door, to go see the boy. The other woman nodded tiredly and made herself comfortable at her desk ready to get started on her paper work.

Determined to see the child Evelyn said her goodbyes to her collegue and exited the office. She had a child to meet.

Johnny wasn't quite sue what was going on at the moment. Everything was jumbled and it hurt to think to hard so he just settled for watching the shadows make shapes. It was almost funny like Two-Bit, Two-Bit was funny. Especially when he was drunk, but then again he was always drunk so he was always funny.

Johnny frownwed suddenly, he didn't like thinking about Two-Bit, or Steve, or Pony or any of them. He especially didn't want to think about Dallas, who was serving a 15 year sentence for manslaughter, a crime that he didn't committ. Johnny moaned softly and thrashed a little trying to stop his train of thought. The 14 year old didn't want to think about that it hurt to much, but there was nothing he could do the box had been opened and now the thoughts wouldn't stop.

He remembered stabing the Soc and running away with Ponyboy his best friend, because they, the Soc, had tried to drown him. He remembered running to Dallas first and getting some help, then it all fell apart. The church catching on fire and Pony getting sick and then Dally confessing to the murder. It was all a jumbled mess to the drugged child even when he was aware of his sourndings. Johnny whimpered rolling over onto his stomach, he remembered the state finding out about his parents and being send out of the state in hopes of finding a good foster home. Leaving his friends and family had been dificult and not something he had wanted to do. Especially with Dallas in prison he just wanted to be close.

Everything had gotten worse then they shipped him out of state anyway, the people just kept getting meaner and this time Johnny had no one to help him. So he began acting out becoming tough and cold, like Dallas. Except it wasn't working like he thought it should. People still hurt him and he couldn't make himself not care when someone said something or hurt him. He just couldn't be Dallas Winston.

Johnny covered his head with the light blanket he had been left with and whined deep in his throat. He wanted to go home, he wanted his friends he wanted Tulsa.

Evelyn opened the doo cautiously, not wanting to scare the boy and not wanting to disturb him if he was sleeping. She carefully pulled the door open wide enough for her to get through when she heard him whine, a sound that she had heard her youngest, Jack, made many times before.

The woman stared down at the broken child and frowned, no child should make sounds like that. Like they wished they were dead and like they wanted nothing more then the earth to swallow them the whole. Evelyn took a seat by the child's bed, "Johnny?" She called softly. Trying to coax him out from under the blanket.

He didn't answer other then pulling the blanket further over his head. Evelyn shook her head even if he couldn't see it; this boy needed brothers, he needed a family and she knew that he would make a wonderful Mercer.

"My name is Evelyn Mercer and I would like to speak with you Johnny, would you please move the blanket?" She asked waiting for him to pull the blanket down from his face. She didn't have to wait long before two dark brown eyes were peering at her from behind black bangs. She made a mental note to ask him if he wanted a hair cut, it looked like it was getting a little long.

Evelyn smiled reassuringly at the boy and began speaking to him, telling him about how she was a social worker and that she wanted nothing more then to help children find loving homes. She told him about her boys and how they had all come from difficult homes and that they understood what it was like growing up the way he had. Johnny never said a word but he listen to Evelyn's tale.

For three weeks they followed the same routine, Evelyn would come in and sit with the boy and she would talk. Sometimes about her boys, sometimes about her life, but Johnny had never spoken back. He never replied or even showed that he cared about what Evelyn was saying but after the first few days Evelyn would notice that he would tilt his head to the left slightly as if trying to listen better, or how he would tense up when he wanted to withhold a laugh brought on by one of the stories about the boys.

It proved to her that no one was unreachable and that all he needed was an older brother or three. She knew that Bobby would reveal in another brother to protect, Jerry would love to have another brother to help gang up on Bobby with, Angel tried of being one of the youngest would enjoy another little brother, and with Johnny and Jack being so close in age with only a few months separating them they would both be stuck as the babies.

Three weeks after first meeting Johnny Evelyn had gotten it set up for her to foster him, and she had even began working on adoption papers. Now all she needed to do was to tell the child.

"Johnny, dear, I was wondering if you would like to come stay with me and my boys." She asked towards the end of her daily two hours with the boy. She had put a side at least two hours a day with the boy for the last three weeks. The dark eyed boy furrowed his brow and looked at the woman in confusion. He didn't know why she was asking this.

Evelyn saw his confusion and smiled softly, "This would be something long term, and if you are happy at my house I would not be adverse to looking into adoption." She didn't mention that she had already started the paper work and had no intention of letting his child slip through her fingers he was destined to be one of her boys.

Johnny, shot her a wide eyed almost frightened look he didn't know just what to think about this and the way he let his jaw drop showed it. No one other then the gang had ever been so nice to him. His mind was in utter chaos, he was confused and didn't understand just why the old lady was being so nice to him, but he couldn't let himself pass up this opportunity, his mouth spoke before his brain could give it permission. "Yes, Ms. Evelyn, could I please?"

Bobby sat on the couch waiting for his ma to get home; he knew that tonight she was bringing home that boy that she had been talking about for the last month or so. The 18 year old didn't know what to think about his mother taking on another kid, even if he was the same age as Jack she normally got them younger about ten or so, right when the were first branded as troublemakers and then became unable to be placed in homes, but this kid could be new to the system and to old and to much of a hassle for most homes.

There was only one thing he was sure of and that was that the new kid was hurting. All the kids that ended up with his mother were hurt and hurt so bad that no one else could help but Evelyn Mercer. The sounds of fighting shook him out of his thoughts; Bobby rolled his eyes and slowly stood from his place on the couch. He had to go knock some heads together before his brothers broke something.

"Knock it off you knuckleheads!" Bobby shouted to his brothers as they wrestled in the kitchen. Jerry and Angel were rolling around on the floor fighting over something, food if he had to guess, Bobby heard a snicker and shot a look to Jack his youngest brother.

Yep it was food they were fighting over, the last slice of pie by the looks of it and there was Jackie munching away at the pie watching his older brothers fight. "Look at ya'll fighting over a piece of pie that neither of you are getting to eat!" That caught their attention.

"Jack!" Jerry whined, "What the hell man?" Jack just grinned around a bite of his pie. Angel stood muttering curse words and glaring at the youngest Mercer. Bobby laughed and patting Jack on the back, this was the kind of stuff was always funny.

"Good job Jackie, riding them of temptation," Bobby shot his brothers a shit eating grin, "Ya'll really should learn to pay more attention." Jerry and Angel glared holes into their older brother, ignoring the laughter from the younger one.

"Riding of temptation, my ass," Angel muttered under his breath, "Gunna rid you of that smile when I stick my boot up your ass." Bobby just grinned and made a come get some motion.

"Bring it, little brother." He said still grinning, knowing that it would grate on the black teen's nerves.

"Boys!" A voice from the front door called, immediately the four boys stopped and raced to the front door, "Come meet Johnny,"

Johnny stared at the door, worry and fear standing out plainly on his face. The woman, Evelyn was standing at his side holding tightly to his left hand and his small bag was held in his left. Johnny wanted nothing more then to leave, to take off running and hope that he somehow made it back to Oklahoma.

When the door opened and Evelyn called out for her son's Johnny felt himself start to shake he pushed away the fear and let himself fall into the state of mind that he had to take when he used to go home after staying at the Curtis' house. He stopped shaking and felt himself go cold he knew that his eyes showed nothing and he knew that his face was blank too. Nothing they did could be worse then what had happened back home. Nothing could be worse then the Soc that jumped him or the beating he had taken before. He vaguely thought that Dallas would be proud of him now.

Johnny didn't see Evelyn's frown as she led him into the house nor did he see Bobby's initial look anger at the bruised face and the obvious burns that were scattered along the exposed skin. "These are my boys," She said gently pulling the frightened child into the house out of the Detroit cold. "This is Bobby, my oldest," Bobby crossed his arms and gave the boy a nod. Johnny looked him over; he was short and stocky with muscle and a scowl that looked very much at home where it was. Johnny guessed he was about 18 or 19. He looked like he would fit right in with the greasers of Tulsa with his hair slicked back and the bruised knuckles that Johnny could just barely see. His mind was on Bobby, he reminded the boy of Dallas, his friend, his protector and this Bobby reminded Johnny so much of him.

"Jerry, the second eldest." Jerry smiled and gave a little wave. Jerry was a tall lean black boy; his hair was short but he wasn't bald. He had a nice calm smile Johnny was reminded of little of Darry, he looked like a hard worker but Johnny could see the wildness in his eyes the need and want to fight.

"Angel, the middle child," Angel made a face at the words, but gave a little smirk to Johnny. Angel a big black boy, with his hair shaved so closed to his head it looked like he was bald. He had a smile that reminded Johnny of Two-Bit but a build that screamed Darry. He looked like he could break someone in half, if he wanted too.

Evelyn pulled Johnny closer to the boys, "And this is Jack, the baby, next to you of course." Jack smiled slightly. Jack was tall and willowy with dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes. He had a beaten look in his eyes that Johnny recognized when he looked in the mirror everyday. He remembered Evelyn saying that they were the same age.

"Boys this is Johnny, he's going to be staying with us for a while," Evelyn said smiling softly at the boys, her boys all five of them. She just knew that they would be good for each other; each boy had something to contribute to the others. Bobby's protectiveness, Jerry's level headedness, Angel's sense of humor and self preservation, Jack's compassion and understanding and little Johnny Cade, soon to be Mercers silent strength.

Evelyn smiled and ushered the boys further into the house, she needed to get them settled down it was late and they had a big day ahead of them.

Ok for those of you that hasn't read the Outsiders here is a quick summery and what I tweaked.

Ponyboy Curtis and his brothers, Sodapop and Darry, belong to a group of poor teenage boys called greasers. Many of them have led hard lives already, and they are tough, angry and unforgiving. They often fight with the Socs, the group of wealthy, privileged boys who beat them up for fun. Ponyboy is shy and quiet. He gets good grades and likes to draw and read. His oldest brother Darry takes care of the family, since their parents died in a car crash. He is very serious, works most of the time, and is very hard on Ponyboy. He often yells at him to do better in school. Soda, the middle brother, is happy most of the time, and is very handsome and likable. The family often gets into fights over Ponyboy's future.

There are a few other members of their gang, including Dally and Johnny. Dally is one of the oldest, and certainly the toughest. He seems to enjoy being a criminal. He thinks the law is a joke. Johnny is even shyer than Pony. His parents abuse him, so he always seems scared. He is the pet of the group. Recently, Johnny was beat up very badly by a Soc wearing heavy rings. One night, Dally, Johnny and Pony meet two beautiful Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia. Cherry is smart and dreamy like Ponyboy, and they have a good conversation. On the way home, the girls' boyfriends catch them all together. It turns out that Cherry's boyfriend is Bob, the same boy who beat Johnny up. Later that night, Ponyboy comes in late and gets into such a fight with Darry that he runs to the park with Johnny just to get away from the house. Bob and his friends find Pony and Johnny there, and nearly drown Pony in a fountain. Terrified and angry, Johnny stabs Bob to death.

The two boys run to find Dally, knowing he will know what to do. He gives them money and tells them to hide in a church a short distance out of town. They stay there for a few days, reading to each other and talking about poetry and sunsets. (Johnny is thoughtful like Pony, and they get along very well.) When Dallas comes to find them, they tell him they want to turn themselves in. Before they can, however, the church catches fire and several small children are trapped inside.

Without thinking, the boys rescue them, and a large piece of burning wood falls on Johnny and breaks his back. Pony spends a short time in the hospital, then gets to go home. That evening there is a big fight between the greasers and the Socs, which the greasers win. One of Bob's friends does not fight, because he is sick of all the hate and anger around him. Cherry, meanwhile, has become a spy for the greasers, which pleases Ponyboy but also angers him: he doesn't want charity. After the rumble, Dally and Ponyboy go to see Johnny, who dies, telling Pony never to lose his spirit. Dally is overwhelmed, and runs out of the hospital. Soon after, back at home, Darry and the others get a phone call from Dally. He has robbed a liquor store. The boys run out to find him and hide him, but the police are chasing him. He pulls out a gun. Ponyboy knows it isn't loaded, but he knows that Dally knows the police think it is. The police shoot Dally, and Pony knows Dally wanted to die. Pony faints and stays sick for nearly a week. Ponyboy is so upset by Johnny's death that for weeks he pretends to himself (and everyone else) that he himself killed Bob, and that Johnny is still alive. After the trial, however, when the judge decides that Ponyboy did nothing wrong, Pony begins to admit to himself that Dally and Johnny are both dead. He decides to write about himself for a class assignment, so he can let other people know what life for a greaser is like. He is sure that there are many boys across the country just like him. He also recognizes, finally, that Darry loves him. He sees that Darry was just being overprotective when he yelled at him. He feels that, for the first time, he and his two brothers form a family.

Ok now here is what I tweaked Johnny is 14 and Ponyboy is 16, Johnny didn't die in the fire but was burned badly, Dallas confessed to the murder of Bob Sheldon and went to prison for Pony and Johnny. During the investigation Johnny is taken away from his family and put into the foster system. He is taken out of state because of the publicity of the murder trail.


End file.
